Does it worth investment for gaming – WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280? The drive comes with the same features as the model before it, like SMART and TRIM support, tiered SLC write cache, thermal throttling, and NAND management and error correction features. Ideal for enthusiasts building custom desktops or gaming rigs. Still very fast. With RAM caching of 4GB (which is what I typically use), read/writes came in about 8000MB/s. Know details in WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280 review.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great performance in applications
- Multiple capacity options.
- Impressive power efficiency
- Low per-gigabyte cost
- Random write speed excessively fast
- Built-in cooling
- Optional integrated heatsink
Cons
- High idle power consumption
- Big premium for heatsink
- Could use a few more firmware optimizations
- Needs read performance optimizations
Price
One of a growing number of relatively inexpensive yet high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs), the WD Black SN750 NVMe ($249 for the 1TB model) is an excellent choice for installing in a new or upgraded PC on which you’ll play games, edit multimedia, or do other.
The SN750 ships in 250GB ($100 on Amazon), 500GB ($150 on Amazon), 1TB (the capacity we tested, $300 on Amazon), and the 2TB upcoming in February ($400 on Amazon).
Compare WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280
| Product | WD Black SN750 500GB | WD Black SN750 1TB | WD Black SN750 2TB |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 500GB / 512GB | 1000GB / 1024GB | 2000GB / 2048GB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 Single-Sided | M.2 2280 Single-Sided | M.2 2280 Single-Sided |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 | PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3 |
| Controller | WD NVMe Architecture | WD NVMe Architecture | WD NVMe Architecture |
| DRAM | SK Hynix DDR4 | SK Hynix DDR4 | SK Hynix DDR4 |
| Memory | SanDisk 64-Layer TLC | SanDisk 64-Layer TLC | SanDisk 64-Layer TLC |
| Sequential Read | 3,470 MB/s | 3,470 MB/s | 3,400 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 2,600 MB/s | 3,000 MB/s | 2,900 MB/s |
| Random Read | 420,000 IOPS | 515,000 IOPS | 480,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 380,000 IOPS | 560,000 IOPS | 550,000 IOPS |
| Encryption | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Endurance | 300 TBW | 600 TBW | 1,200 TBW |
| Warranty | 5-Years | 5-Years | 5-Years |
WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280 review
Design
The WD Black SN750 is an M.2, x4 PCIe, NVMe SSD that ships in the 2280 (22 mm wide, 80 mm long) form factor. WD designed the new drive to appeal to the booming gaming market and says the new WD Black is “Loot Box Strong.” The new SSD features military-like styling for the device, WD’s new SSD dashboard, and a new model that comes with an EKBW heatsink.
The handcrafted solid aluminum heatsink helps maintain peak performance three times longer before the drive throttles, but we’ll have to wait for it to pass through the lab to verify those claims.
The drive communicates over the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface using the NVMe 1.3 protocol. The new drives, including the 2TB model, come in an M.2 2280 single-sided form factor to provide better compatibility with mobile systems.
Controller
Western Digital’s Black SN750 uses the same 64L 3D NAND and custom NVMe controller as the previous-gen model. WD released the second-gen Black SSD last year and mentioned its new “NVMe Architecture” controller would be their go-to for future products as well, so sticking with the same configuration doesn’t come as a surprise.
Capacity
For now, the WD Black SN750 is only available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities without the EKBW heatsink.
Read and write speed
The Black SN750 delivers peak speeds of up to 3,470/3,000MB/s read/write, better thermal and power efficiency, and if you can wait, models with a great looking EKWB heatsink. Aside from a slight premium for this high-performance drive, there isn’t much holding it back from getting our recommendation.
TBW
The Black comes with a five-year warranty and the same endurance ratings, but the new 2TB option boasts up to 1,200 terabytes written (TBW) of endurance. The Black’s endurance isn’t quite as robust as many of the new Phison E12-powered SSDs, but it is still more than enough for most users.
WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280 Performance review
Like nearly all SSDs we’ve tested, the SN750 scored within a few points of 5,000 on the PCMark 8 storage test, which simulates an hour or so of real-world PC use, including opening and closing different types of apps. For reference, the Samsung SSD 860 QVO scored 4,881 on this test, a difference small enough that it’s a good reminder that if you want an SSD to upgrade a budget PC, you can stick with a cheaper SATA drive and get most of the way there.
WD’s Black SN750 delivers fast game load times in whatever game you choose to play. But, as seen by its sixth place ranking, it isn’t the fastest option. Samsung’s SSDs both load faster by a few seconds, but Adata’s lower-cost XPG SX8200 Pro is just as competitive. Intel’s Optane 905P has the fastest performance in most applications, but the cheaper SSD 660p is also very competitive and beats even the high-end WD Black SN750.
While the Crystal DiskMark tests measure theoretical performance with test data sets, our AS-SSD file-transfer tests are a more graspable measure of how a drive can handle file types that you’d actually have on your home PC, such as game folders, other application/program folders, and single-file disk images (ISO files). On this test, the SN750 did exceptionally well on the game folder transfer test, beating all of its competitors with a score of 1,252MBps. It also offered class-leading performance on the program transfer test.
Alternate of WD Black 1TB SN750 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen3 PCIe M.2 2280
Samsung 970 EVO Plus
Specs
- Capacity: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
- Controller: Samsung Phoenix
- Memory: Samsung 3-bit MLC
- Interface: M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4
- Seq. read: 3,500 MB/s
- Seq. write: 3,200 MB/s
Pros
+Outstanding real-world performance
+Samsung SSD technology
Cons
-Could be better optimised for efficiency
The Samsung 970 EVO Plus offers a slight bump in write performance over the 970 EVO, all for the same price. There was a time when you could pick up the non-Plus version for slightly less, but those drives seem to have disappeared now. If you can find a straight 970 EVO for less, then go for it but they’re a rarity.
Both drives still use the same Samsung Phoenix controller, which means they can outperform the competition in real-world usage. If you want peak PCIe 3.0 performance, then the Samsung drives are hard to beat, but you have to pay for that little speed hike. Compared with the 512GB Addlink, the Samsung is a little quicker in real-world testing but costs another $20.
That’s not a huge issue at this half-terabyte level, but when the 1TB version comes in at close to $170, it does make the higher capacity 970 EVO drives a bit more of a difficult recommendation. The 500GB 970 EVO is still a great drive, smartly specced, well-made, and with a more competitive price.
Editor’s recommendations
- Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 inch internal SSD up to 560MB/s review
- WD_Black 1TB SN850 NVMe internal gaming SSD solid state drive – Gen4 PCIe review
- Crucial P5 1TB 3D NAND NVMe internal SSD up to 3400 MB/s – CT1000P5SSD8 review
- Samsung 980 Pro 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 internal gaming SSD M.2 (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) review
- SK hynix Gold S31 1TB SATA Gen3 2.5 inch internal SSD review
